April 30, 2010

Who Needs Food Anyway?

One of my friends is the well known CEO of a giant multinational
corporation. I read recently that he has a net worth of over $400 million. We've
known one another since we were both teenagers and he wasn't yet famous. You
would know his name, but he wouldn't want me putting this story out for the
press to pick up, so I can't share it. Let's call him Fred.

Very early in
Fred's career, he said this to me: "Eric, for most people the basic needs are
food, water, and paying the rent. For me, if I want my career to soar, the basic
need is advertising and public relations. I pay for it before I pay my rent
because I know it will result in the best jobs and best
opportunities."

It worked. Fred is famous. He's one of the super-rich, he
has his own helicopter and his own jet. He has a giant apartment in New York,
another in the country outside New York City and another in a billionaires' ski
resort town, and probably others he hasn't told me about.

A Lifetime
CommitmentFred is one of the smartest men I know, and as I watched his
career, he always made sure that his most basic need, advertising and PR, was
his highest priority. In fact, at an early age he met a young PR person and cut
a "lifetime deal" with her. When he couldn't afford her services, he said, "If
you help me now, when I get rich I'll stick with you and be able to pay you lots
of money." He stuck to his promise, and they have been side-by-side business
associates for decades.

He gets it. What about you?Out Of Sight,
Out Of MindMost of the people who are rich and famous understand that the
most important thing in boosting their career and staying on top is PR and
advertising. Hollywood celebrities thrive on tabloid rumors because they know
that if people are talking about them (good or bad), it's good for their
careers. In Hollywood, the kiss of death is no press.

How visible are
you?

No one ever gave me this advice, and I wish they had drummed it into
my head at a young age. It took me decades to really understand it. The law of
visibility is a reality for anyone who wants to be considered a celebrity in
their area of expertise. Stay visible frequently. How Crass, EricIn
your world as an artist, you may be saying, "I don't want to be famous, I don't
want to be a celebrity." That's fine, but you and your art are a product. And
products that succeed follow that mantra: "Stay visible frequently." (Please, no
e-mails about my crass reference to art as a product. Like it or not, if you're
selling something, it's a product. You are a product. You are a
brand.)

12 Steps To 'Stay Visible Frequently'

1. Make it your
mantra. Everything you do should relate to staying as visible as possible.
Make it your goal to make a giant PR effort at least weekly.

2. Don't be
timid.Chances are you can't be exposed enough to be overexposed. Look for
an excuse every day, every week, to get your name in front of potential
customers.

3. Concentrate your efforts.Ten impressions to 10
different audiences are not 10 impressions. That's one impression to each of 10
audiences. Wherever you're focusing your attention, dominate that medium with
continual visibility. Most people can't afford to dominate more than one or two
things. It's incorrect to think you will achieve better response if you buy five
ads one time in five different magazines. NONE of them will work for you
effectively. Yet the same money spent on five ads in five issues in a row of one
magazine will bring you tremendous results. If you have a limited budget,
dominate something with that budget.

4. Never ever stop.This has to
become your lifestyle. Like the film stars say, "If they're not writing about
me, I'm out of business." If you want to be a giant success, you work your
advertising/PR strategy every day and every week for the rest of your career.
Out of sight, out of mind. Out of mind, out of business. Advertising and PR
builds upon itself. Think of it as a house that is never finished. You start
with the foundation, keep building until the house looks finished, and then you
keep adding on.

5. Starting and stopping is like starting from
scratch.I know people who advertise for a couple of issues of one of my
magazines. They will buy a couple of ads, lay low for a few months, then buy
some more, then lay low. Each time you lay low, you lose share of mind because
you're not reinforcing your brand. Apple never stops. Ford and GM never stop.
You can never stop if you want wild success.

6. Leverage your visibility
strategy.Seek ways to get others promoting you while you sleep. Get others
acting on your behalf. The best tool ever invented for an artist is an art
gallery. If you have five or six galleries in different regions of the country,
you are being promoted every day to the customers in those galleries. They are
professional sales agents. One -- or six -- more galleries showing your work can
do more for you than you can do on your own.

7. Participate in
co-op advertising. The best deal going is when you can buy ads for your work at
half the price. Many art galleries will run ads exclusively promoting your work
if you're willing to pay half the cost of the ad. It's a great deal for both of
you, drives customers to their gallery, and it builds your brand, which
increases sales, buyer desire, and, ultimately, demand, resulting in higher
prices.

8. Become a press release maven.News outlets locally, local
art pubs, even national art publications are always on the hunt for a story. If
your release appears on their desk on the day they need to fill a page, you
might get lucky. Frequency builds your brand with editors, so any chance you
have to issue a press release (on something legitimate, like an award or a new
painting), send a release to everyone who reaches the audiences you want to
reach. Get to know the editors, ask about upcoming stories, and make suggestions
as to how you might fit. If you ever wonder why some people seem to get all the
press, that's why. And if you can find someone to do press for you, especially a
pro, they can pitch stories on your behalf.

9. Facebook and Twitter
matter.Brands are built by frequent posts with smart information, great
photos, and interesting links. Build a giant friend list and post frequently,
with relevant and interesting things (we don't care about your cat's hairball or
your political opinions).

10. Bigger is better.The psychology of
advertising says that if you run bigger ads, or more ads in an issue, you are
more important. That is how top blue chip art galleries built their reputations
and how they keep them alive. You must be successful if you're running that much
advertising. Fake it till you make it. Run ads as big as possible and as
frequently as possible.

But frequency is still more important than size.
If you can afford only one full-page ad, I'd advise you that four quarter-page
ads in four consecutive issues is better than one full-page ad in only one
issue. Dominate with frequency, and then, as soon as you can, increase the ad
size to grab more notice and stature in the eyes of buyers.

11.
Advertising is perceived as editorial content.Research indicates that
consumers prefer newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV stations that have ads
to those that do not. Ads tell about things people may want or need. In art
magazines like Fine Art Connoisseur, which I own, our readers love paintings,
and they look at the paintings in ads as much as the pictures in the stories.
Readers love seeing those pictures, and may well not remember you as an
advertiser, but as an artist they now know. One of my advertisers told me she
became perceived as famous because she is in every issue of the magazine,
without skipping, ever. Of course, it helps her business because she never stops
and her image is always being reinforced.

12. Volume overcomes time.A
new art gallery once asked me if there was a way they could become as well known
as a gallery that had been in business for a hundred years. Though time +
consistent visibility is the strongest marketing tool, you can get very close to
an equal position in the minds of audiences with a high volume of advertising,
with a high volume of frequency, over a shorter period of time. I told this
gallery owner that within three to five years, his gallery could be perceived as
one of the biggest and most important galleries in America if he ran four to six
pages in every issue for three years. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it realistic? Not
for many. But this is one way to overcome the advantage of time.But
Eric, How Can I Afford It?My friend Fred, whom I mentioned earlier, told me
he invested in PR and advertising before he paid his rent. He knew that the
investment would lead to success, and therefore he made huge sacrifices. He
drove an old beat-up car, he lived in a crummy apartment and didn't go out to
dinner much. He put the good things in life on hold so he could buy the
visibility that would eventually result in success. Did I mention that his net
worth is over $400 million?The Law Of Conflicting ValuesOne of the
great laws of the universe is that two good things may be in conflict. Truth and
justice are both good things, but one may have to be chosen over the other. In
art, your conflicting values may be financial success versus the respect of
other artists. For instance, we all know of a famous artist who is extremely
wealthy but whom most artists do not respect. He chose wealth over the respect
of other artists.

To accomplish frequent visibility, you may have to
choose visibility over certain basic needs to roll the dice on building your
career longer-term. Most successful people I know had to make those tough
choices. You can always find a way if you're passionate enough to make something
happen.

The Agent In MeArtists keep asking me to be their agent, but
I simply don't have the time or the desire. Yet I believe that anyone with some
marketing skills like those I've acquired could make an unknown artist one of
the most famous and financially successful in America within three years if they
had enough financial resources and drive. I do this for businesses on a regular
basis with my consulting practice in marketing, but those clients typically have
the resources to pay my fees and spend the money on big campaigns for long
periods of time.

For you, without a lot of resources, it will simply
take more time. A steady drumbeat of visibility over time will eventually get
you where you want to be.

Do Something DailyI guarantee I will get 50
e-mails about how "my circumstances are different" and how someone doesn't have
the money to advertise. I don't doubt that. Yet you can still carve out one hour
daily to create visibility without spending a dime. Some who see a clear vision
will find the money from friends, family, and personal sacrifices. You just have
to want success badly enough. Following this program is not for wimps. It's for
people committed to becoming a major household name among
collectors.

Nothing good is ever accomplished without risk. Your success
is 100 percent determination to succeed at chasing your dreams.

Go knock
'em dead. You can make great things happen.

PS:
Yes, I Can Be Your Agent ... In A WayOne of the most powerful ways to grow
your brand and your business as an artist is to find others to sell for you
while you concentrate on painting. This is what galleries do so well. Whether
you want your first gallery or you want to add more galleries so you can
increase the number of artworks you are selling, I can help. My company has a
magazine called Artist Advocate whose sole purpose is to expose your artwork to
galleries.

We all know galleries are busy and don't want to be bothered
with artist solicitations. One gallery in New York said to me recently, "Eric,
every artist who calls, we tell them we no longer accept solicitations. If
you're not in Artist Advocate, we will never see your work. We recommend it."
They went on to tell me how it is a wonderful tool to allow them to look for
artists, and that they keep it as a reference and watch artists from issue to
issue to see if they are consistent.

If you want to see your artwork
showcased to 15,000-plus galleries (6,500 by mail and the rest by e-mail),
Artist Advocate can help you find a gallery so you can sell more and concentrate
on creating art. Get in touch with the individual below for information, or
e-mail me back and say, "Eric, have someone contact
me."

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